Page 11 of The Rebel Seer

Which means whatever set off the alarm is in Reykjavík. Where I happen to know some people. Oh, they’re all dead, but they can tell me things.

“Is everyone okay?”

I look over and the queen is running into the yard followed by Neil Roberts and our general. I would bet they didn’t want to be running after her, but she is the queen. They likely told her to stay put, but she does what she wants.

“I’m fine, Mom.” Rhys steps back and straightens his shirt. “I lost control for a moment.”

“And now we have an eye outside,” His Grace declares, his eyes back to normal. “We need to get the wolves inside somehow.”

“I don’t think it’s an eye,” I explain. “We don’t have to panic.”

One of our witches walks in and whispers something to Sasha. He stands tall and faces the royals. “The witches agree with Shy. They do not believe it’s Myrddin. The energy is wrong, they say. They are going to investigate but believe the wolves are safe for now.”

The queen moves in and looks her baby boy over. “Rhys, are you sure you’re okay? What set you off?”

Despite the fact that everyone seems to relax slightly, I feel anxious again. There’s only one answer, and I give it before Rhys can come up with some bullshit no one will buy. “It was me. It’s always me. But the witches are right about the eye. Josie says it’s something else. Something she hasn’t felt before, and it’s coming through the portal.”

The queen turns my way, and her gaze softens. “Shy, he’s in an emotional state. That is not your fault.”

I like the queen, but she doesn’t fully grasp what’s going on between me and her son. “I told him I shouldn’t come to Faery.”

The king curses under his breath and the queen winces.

“If she doesn’t want to come, we shouldn’t make her,” His Grace says.

And the grass starts to grow again.

The queen turns to her Fae husband, her eyes narrowing. “Stop it.”

I hold up my hands. “I’m going. I was worried I would be a distraction. It was a brief thought. I’m sorry I brought it up. Of course I want to go.”

I reach for Rhys’s hand, and he seems to calm at the contact.

“Shy comes with me or I stay with her. I will not leave her,” Rhys states quietly, bringing my hand to the same place where his father recently pulled magic from. He cradles it there. “Papa, if you have a problem…”

His Grace’s hands come up in obvious concession. “No problem.”

“Oh, we have a problem,” Sasha argues. “Apparently we need to go to the portal and figure out what’s out there. It’s big enough to set off our alarms. Even if it isn’t Myrddin right now, that kind of magic will attract attention. I will gather some people to go into town with me and figure out what’s happening.”

“I’ll go,” Donovan says, and his eyes narrow when Sasha starts to argue. “I have a magic dampener on. I’m not foolish, General, and I won’t put the community at risk, but I can’t have Rhys go, and he’ll feel better if I’m protecting Shy.”

What? I was prepared to fight to go. I can talk to some of the dead. I hope the living haven’t seen anything or we have a real problem. That means our witnesses will be the supes of the city or the dead. I’m the only one who can talk to both.

“Why the hell would Shy go?” Rhys asks, his hand tightening around mine. “I’m not putting her in danger. Dad, you can handle it. If you need backup, I’ll go, but I’m not risking Shy.”

“Shy is the reason we’re not panicking and locking down the mountain,” the king points out. “She’s the only one with any idea what is happening, and I believe she’ll be invaluable figuring out what’s going on. Shahidi, I’m making a request as your king. Will you aid Frelsi?”

I don’t hesitate. A spark of…I don’t know what to call it…pride, eagerness…hits me hard. “Of course, Your Highness. I was going to suggest I take… Well, normally I would ask for Fen and Evan or Lee if I couldn’t go with Rhys. I was going to offer to talk to some people I know. Dead people. Like I said, they can be sensitive to certain magics.”

“It’s strong,” Josie says, and I notice her eyes close as she seems to sigh. “It feels…good. Not like I think whoever is working the magic is good. I mean, it’s nice. It’s kind of vibrating along my system. But then I felt some of that from King Hot Stuff before he started wearing the amulet thing Lily gave him.”

The King of All Vampire gives off a lot of death magic. I can sense it when I open myself to it. Which means others can as well. So Lily found a way to dampen it.

“They don’t need you,” Rhys insists. “You can’t fight whatever’s out there. I won’t let you get hurt.”

I turn to the man I love. The man who sometimes smothers me. “Babe, I need my hand.”

His grip tightens. “You are not leaving the town. I forbid it.”

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